Fine Arts

The Tennessee Wesleyan University Department of Fine Arts awards Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees. Students working towards a BA in Fine Arts can choose from several emphases, including music, theatre and visual art. Fine arts majors will select two of the three available emphases, for a primary and a secondary course of study. All of the emphases are available as minors to add onto other degrees outside the fine arts department.The department of fine arts also encourages individualized majors, which allow students to combine a fine arts major with another area of study, such as music and psychology; art and business; or music and theatre.

Music

Students in the music major take 7-8 semester hours of music ensembles, such as the concert choir, vox humana, chorale or concert band. Non-music majors are also invited to participate in music ensembles, and scholarships are available for participants in all music ensembles. Music majors are also required to take applied music lessons in voice, piano or organ. The Bachelor of Music Education can lead to K-12 teaching licensure in the state of Tennessee. Students also have opportunities to perform in solo recitals as well as music theatre productions in collaboration with the theatre program.

Visual Art

The visual art program provides students the opportunity to create art in a hands-on learning environment. Offering classes in drawing, printmaking, painting and more, the TWU visual art department allows students to major in art as part of an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts degree, as well as to minor in art or take art classes as electives. Students in the visual art department also have opportunities to exhibit their art locally and on campus as well as to compete in competitions off campus. Opportunities to enter art competitions and publish artwork in the literary magazine, Springs of Helicon, are available to any student.

Theatre

The TWU theatre program focuses on preparing students for careers in theatre or for continued study at the graduate level. Courses including acting, directing, playwriting and design allow students to develop their artistic skills and grow as performers, while courses such as theatre history, dramatic literature, and theory help students better understand the theoretical and technical side of theatre. All students are invited to audition for theatre productions, regardless of major.

Featured ClassTH 402 PlaywritingThis course is an introduction to the art and craft of playwriting. Primary emphasis will be given to writing for the stage, requiring the student to understand the unique facets of stage performance and the art of writing theatrically. Conflict, dialogue, and dramatic devices and structures will be investigated in order to give the student the tools to tell a story that will engage a theatre audience. Finally, using these tools to write in other related media will be explored to broaden the student’s potential media for expression.